Most people only have one meter in their home so it can be very confusing to suddenly encounter new kinds of meters with multiple tariffs. Here is a breakdown of the different types of meters, what they all cost and what they all do.
Types of meters:
| Standard meter | Standard meters record the gas or electricity you use on a single rate |
| multi-rate meter (two-rate meter) | A meter with two rates, one for daytime and one for night time |
| multi-rate meters (three-rate meter) | A meter with three rates, one for daytime, one for night time and one for weekends |
| multi-site meters | Multiple separate meters on different sites |
| Related Meters | two separate electricity meters, or one meter with two supply points |
What are multi-rate meters?
Multi-rate meters offer cheaper kWh unit prices for “off-peak” times over the 24hour period of the day. Off-peak times can include night rates and weekends rates. These have different tariffs to the standard rate, called either Economy 7 or Economy 10, both offering the opportunity to save a significant amount of money on energy bills for suitable users.
The off-peak times will vary depending on:
- Your business electricity supplier
- Your location
- The meter you have
Two-rate meter – this is sometimes known as an Economy 7 meter, a two-rate meter differentiates between peak and off-peak usage, charging less for off-peak times. Economy 7 times usually are classes between 10 pm and 8:30 am – but some suppliers time may be slightly different.
Three-rate meter – this meter takes weekend usage into consideration, alongside, peak and off-peak supply, charging all three rates at different rates. If you’re using energy over the weekend, this would be the best choice for your business.
Multi-rate meters vs multi-site meters
Larger business will benefit from multi-site meters if they have multiple different premises. However, each company should assess how much energy they actually use, to determine the best meter for.
Do you already have a multi rate meter?
Even though multi-rate meters look like a standard meters, a multi-rate meter will have small grey writing above the screen to tell you if the meter is multi-rate. The digital display will alternate between two or three readings (this depends on whether you are on an Economy 7 or Economy 10 tariff).
Details on Economy 7
Economy 7 (also known as a ‘differential’ or ‘multi-rate’ tariff) is an energy plan that can help you pay less for your electricity.
With Economy 7, you’ll pay cheaper rates for 7 hours during the night. The difference in cost could be up to 50%, depending on your electricity supplier.
If you have storage heating and hot water then Economy 7 is the most appropriate choice as you can heat up on your off-peak, overnight rate; giving you heating and hot water throughout the day. Storage heaters should be wired to only use the off-peak rate, and water heaters can be timed to come on overnight.
All the electricity you use during the off-peak times is charged at cheaper rate, not just your heating and hot water bills. Energy used outside of these times may be more expensive than the standard rate.
Off peak times:
| Credit meter GMT | Credit meter BST | PAYG meter GMT | PAYG meter BST | |
| Southern Scotland (MPAN 18) | 4.30am – 7.30am 1.00pm – 4.00pm 8.30pm – 12.30am | 4.30am – 7.30am 1.00pm – 4.00pm 8.30pm – 12.30am | 4.30am – 7.30am 1.00pm – 4.00pm 8.30pm – 12.30am | 5.30am – 8.30am 2.00pm – 5.00pm 9.30pm – 1.30am |
| Northern Scotland (MPAN 17) | 4.30am – 7.30am 1.30pm – 4.30pm 8.30pm – 12.30am | 4.30am – 7.30am 1.30pm – 4.30pm 8.30pm – 12.30am | 4.30am – 7.30am 1.30pm – 4.30pm 8.30pm – 12.30am | 5.30am – 8.30am 2.30pm – 5.30pm 9.30pm – 1.30am |
| Merseyside and Northern Wales (MPAN 13) | 4.30am – 7.30am 1.00pm – 4.00pm 8.30pm – 12.30am | 4.30am – 7.30am 1.00pm – 4.00pm 8.30pm – 12.30am | 4.30am – 7.30am 1.00pm – 4.00pm 8.30pm – 12.30am | 5.30am – 8.30am 2.00pm – 5.00pm 9.30pm – 1.30am |
| All other areas | 12.00am – 5.00am 1.00pm – 4.00pm 8.00pm – 10.00pm | 1.00am – 6.00am 2.00pm – 5.00pm 9.00pm – 11.00pm | 12.00am – 5.00am 1.00pm – 4.00pm 8.00pm – 10.00pm | 1.00am – 6.00am 2.00pm – 5.00pm 9.00pm – 11.00pm |
How to read an Economy 7 meter
Reading the meter will be slightly different for each meter depending on the kind you have.
The first type has 2 displays. The top row (marked “normal”) shows your daytime rate electricity and the bottom row (marked “Low”) shows your night-time rate.
The second type of meter has a single row of numbers showing your day rate electricity usage. To see the reading for your night-time rate, press the red button.
It’s possible to get a smart meter for Multi-rate Meters. Smart meters help you to more easily spot patterns in your gas and electricity use, so you can find out where to make savings. Having a smart meter means no more meter readings or estimated bills. And that also helps you to waste less energy and cut your carbon emissions.
Details on Economy 10
Economy 10 works pretty much the same way as Economy 7 except that, you’ll get 10 hours of cheaper electricity rather than 7. With Economy 10, 3 of the cheaper hours are usually offered in the afternoon, with 7 more overnight. When conserving whether to get a Multi-rate meter you should also think about:
| Think about | Because |
| Whether you can use more than half your electricity during the night | if not, you’ll probably end up paying over the odds, because you’ll be using too much electricity during the day, at the more expensive rate. |
| Whether your appliances have timers | unless you regularly stay up until midnight or 1am, you’ll need to set a timer to switch them on at night, when the Economy 7 off-peak hours begin. |
| Your lifestyle | if you drive an electric vehicle, and it works for you to charge it overnight, for example, Economy 7 could be ideal. |
Details on other types of Meters
Related Meters
Having related meters means you may have two separate electricity meters, or one meter with two supply points. A supply point is how suppliers provide and charge for electricity. Most meters just have one.